Monday, July 02, 2012

Randy Blythe, the singer for metal band Lamb of God, is being held in a Czech prison on charges of manslaughter because he shoved a rowdy concert-goer offstage two years ago and the guy hit his head and died.

While this is truly tragic, manslaughter? Hardly. Fans are NOT SUPPOSED TO GO ON THE STAGE. That is why security is there to throw them off. Look at what happened to Pantera's Dimebag Darryl who was killed onstage by a fan in 2004. Bands need to be safe and leave the moshing, thrashing and full-body contact in the pit.

Lamb of God management issued this statement:

"…management wished to address today one false piece of information that has been included in many of the news stories released so far. Under no circumstances was there a fight of any kind involved. This incident deals with a fan that three times during the concert jumped the barricade and rushed Randy during the performance. It is alleged that the third time, security was not able to reach him and that Randy pushed him back into the audience where supposedly he fell and hit his head."

To me that is the end of the story. As Keith Richards once said, “He’s on my turf. I’m going to cut the fucker down.”

The group's guitarist, Willie Adler wrote Friday on his official Facebook page that he doesn't even remember the alleged incident ever taking place, but was sympathetic to the fan: "Hey guys, it's been a rough couple of days. All I can say is that I can't recall that particular show let alone a fan being beaten on the stage. We've no real clue as to what happened to him, but we send our condolences. All we try to do is entertain, the fans are why we're here. We would never try and harm anyone."

Band members meanwhile have also created a #FreeRandyBlythe hashtag, hoping to mobilize support for the musician.